Another Christmas, another successful pantomime at the Sheffield Lyceum, this time it’s the turn of Snow White. With an excellent cast, amazing live band and a wonderful production value, the Lyceum Panto is once again one not to be missed!
Before the curtain is even raised, the audience are entertained. This comes from a combination of the ‘Audience Cam’ on the big screen on stage and the Christmas bangers, where the band were up on their feet encouraging the audience to sing-along ahead of the spectacle. And what a spectacle it was, with an expertly blended mix of theatrical magic, slapstick routines and the usual panto traditions.
The cast is led by Coronation Street’s Catherine Tydelsey making her pantomime debut. You could not tell this was a Panto debut as Tyldesley impressed as the Evil Queen with a powerful persona. She leads multiple musical numbers superbly with her strong vocals, and even had her own Elphaba’s ‘Defying Gravity’ moment during one of those numbers.
The South Yorkshire contingency in the cast is strong, and there were honourable mentions of this throughout the show with Sheffield’s own Matthew Croke (Aladdin the Musical) playing the role of Prince Charming, Barnsley comic George Akid as the warm Muddles, plus adopted South Yorkshireman Damian Williams (Lyceum Legend), as Nurse Nelly. It is Williams’ 17th year in the Lyceum Pantomime and it’s clear to see why he’s such a favourite in the Steel City. His ability to captivate audiences with his razor-sharp wit leaves the audience, and at times the cast, howling with laughter.
Perhaps the standout performance of the show goes to Lyceum Panto returnee Marc Pickering, who played the villain in the 2022 panto Jack and the Beanstalk. It was comedic genius this time out for Pickering, whose high energy kept the audience engaged throughout the show, added with his dramatical German accent. The combination of Pickering, Williams and Akid was a masterclass in comedy trios.
Aoife Kenny as the titular part brought warmth and joy to this family-friendly fairytale, with Gladiators ‘Viper’ adding unexpected humour at times, most noticeably the fact his first words he murmured was ‘Hendersons!’, alluding to Henderson’s Relish. The Seven Dwarfs, led by Dean Whatton (Game of Thrones), were great value and ended the first half in fantastic fashion with their own rendition of ‘Seven’, a slight twist from the famous SIX the Musical song.
A huge shoutout to the live four-piece band, led by the energetic James Harrison, who sound superb and brought this musical bonanza to life. The vocals from the cast were insane, with the musical numbers clearly well rehearsed also. All this, along with the mesmerising visual designs, outrageous costumes and continuous laugh-out-loud moments meant this was certainly a panto for the record books!
Snow White at the Lyceum Theatre is everything you could imagine in a traditional family pantomime, from the heartfelt romantic scenes to the hilarious comedy routines- there’s something for everyone! A big praise for writer and director Paul Hendy for his amazing work in bringing this masterpiece to life.
Rating: ★★★★★
Snow White is playing at the Lyceum Theatre until January 5th 2025
